


A Promise of Secrets

by rowaelinsmut



Category: Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: (eventual rough sex), Aftercare, Alternate Universe - After College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, BDSM, Bondage and Discipline, Clubbing, Dominance, Drinking, Erotica, Eventual Smut, F/M, House Party, Ice Play, Party, Rough Sex, Sex Toys, Smut, Swimming Pools, Teasing, Temptation, Wall Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2019-05-20 04:56:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14888048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rowaelinsmut/pseuds/rowaelinsmut
Summary: Aelin meets a stranger after she blunders at his house party. He seems kind enough since he takes care of her but there's another side to him that Aelin is most curious about.Chapter I has no smut.Chapter II we get some action. ;)Chapter III is sex.Chapter IV.. Basically from here on out we're just reading about fucking.Note: there is a build up to this, tags are added to show where it's going.





	1. Promises

Aelin knocked back her third shot in a row before wiping her mouth sloppily and grinning widely as Lysandra did the same.

“You’re a bloody mess, girl.” Lysandra slurred clumsily, hooking her arm in Aelin’s while carrying her drink in her free hand.

“Look who’s talking,” Aelin shot back playfully, taking Lys’ offered arm and leading her away from the makeshift bar while sipping from her own cup.

The bar itself had been set up in the backyard next to an almost indecently large pool. The coloured dancing lights from the DJ booth reflected beautifully off the surface of the water and Aelin was momentarily mesmerised by the varying shades in the gentle ripples from the breeze.

The party itself was hosted at some undoubtedly rich, fraternity someone or other’s house who clearly had too much time and money to actually worry about who was at the party. Lysandra and Aelin were far out of their element here but clearly the host had a loose guest list since they hadn’t been stopped on their way in. They didn’t even attend Doranelle University and yet here they were, crashing, and certainly over-indulging with the open bar.

“Do you think they would be terribly mad if we had a dip in the water?” Aelin asked, pulling Lysandra to the edge of the pool. Lys teetered dangerously and Aelin’s reflexes were not exactly cat-like after this many drinks.

Lys stumbled into Aelin’s side and both girls lost their footing along with their drinks and went crashing into the pool with a resounding splash. Laughter and whistles erupted from the surrounding people who had witnessed it and Aelin honestly wished she could just stay under the water as her mood instantly sobered as a product of her embarrassment.

Aelin held her hands out in front of her to push off the bottom of the pool and kicked to the top, breaking through the surface with a sputtering gasp. She spotted Lysandra treading water a foot away and laughing hysterically, her dark locks plastered to her head with her eyeliner starting to streak down her cheeks.

Aelin couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled over her lips and she bobbed over to Lysandra, reaching out to grasp the edge of the pool, watching a tad mournfully as her red solo cup floated away from her.

“Now we’re all wet,” she complained thickly, a slight slur garbling her words but knowing her cheeks were bright red with shame but trying to play it off as though it were nothing. Aelin ignored the waves and glasses raised in her and Lys’ “honour” from the group of guys standing closest to them.

Lys leaned back and kicked off the wall into a float. “The world is spinning.”

“No, that’s just you, Lys.”

Aelin’s vision blurred a little but she followed Lysandra anyways and as soon as she had floated close enough to reach her, she laced her fingers through her friends’ and let the slight ebbing and flowing of the pool float them along in an attempt to own the situation instead of letting it ruin her night.

“The sky is so lovely,” Lys breathed, a slight hiccup following her words.

Aelin hummed her agreement but the gentle lapping of the water had brought her to the side of the pool and she bumped her head on the edge of it. Before she could curse, she looked up to see an upside down, devastatingly attractive face staring mildly amused upon them.

Then she did curse and willed her limbs to be as coordinated as possible as she flipped herself upright in the water, pulling at Lysandra’s hand to urge her to do the same.

Aelin gave a feline grin as she beheld the now righted face above her. The man was something out of a fairytale, tall, broad shouldered and corded in muscle with short silver hair and piercing pine green eyes. But what really drew Aelin’s attention was the wicked tattoo etched across the left side of his face, scrawled from his temple down his face and neck, disappearing into his shirt.

“Join us,” she purred, rather bravely considering she likely looked like a drowned rat, her only saving grace was the molten golden silk of her thigh length sheath dress glinting in the water.

Lysandra gave an appraising whistle and both girls gripped the edge of the pool, pulling themselves closer to the towering man above them.

The man cocked his head, his gaze flicking over Lysandra’s stunning face so briefly before coming to rest upon her own. Aelin felt the assessment heavy upon her, low within her and wildfire burned low in her gut.

Just the alcohol, she thought to herself slightly breathlessly as she returned the stare, a dare.

“I think you should take Aelin up on your offer to join us,” Lys purred, batting her eyelashes up at him.

He barely spared her a glance and flashed a half smile that didn’t quite meet his eyes. “Perhaps I should be the one asking you to join me, rather than the other way around, given that this is my pool you’re inviting me into.”

Aelin’s stomach clenched as the man’s rolling accent caressed her ears, the pure maleness, the dominance causing her face to burn further.

“Your pool?” She managed, mind muddled with alcohol and the overwhelming urge to run her fingers down the wicked tattoo gracing his chiseled face.

He nodded, couching down so he could sit on the edge of the pool to be more level with them.

Lysandra, in all her drunkenness, poked his leg, “How can someone so beautiful be real?”

Aelin sputtered, still bobbing in the water, acutely aware of her own appearance and the water of the pool chilling her even as a burning fire raged on inside of her.

“I am real, last I checked. I’m Rowan. Who might you be and how did you wind up in my pool?”

Lysandra giggled again but Aelin let his name wash over her. Rowan. It suited him and she couldn’t explain why it seemed like an answer to a question she hadn’t known to ask.

The alcohol again, likely.

She cursed herself silently for her lack of finesse, for allowing herself to drink so much and to lose her head in the first place. The bobbing of the pool sent her mind reeling and she began to feel dizzy.

“I’m Lysandra and this is my best friend in the world, Aelin. We thought the pool looked lonely and decided to give it some much needed attention.”

Rowan chuckled, low and deep before catching Aelin’s eye again. “Cat got your tongue, Aelin?”

Holy rutting gods. The way he said her name, like a sensual caress, made her want to burst into living flame.

Everything blurred suddenly, her grasp on reality fracturing and she shook her head slowly, trying to centre herself.

Lysandra peered over at her. “Aelin? Are you okay? You don’t look so good…”

And then all that churning in her gut became something more but before she could warn them or even attempt to get out, she vomited in the water, losing her grip on the edge of the pool before she knew only darkness.

~.~.~.~.~

“Aelin?”

Aelin groaned as her senses returned to her. She opened her eyes and saw that she was no longer in the water and was in fact, laying on a couch in a private room. Lysandra was peering over at her with her brows were furrowed in concern.

“Are you okay?” She murmured and Aelin winced in response.

A knock sounded at the door and then Rowan poked his head in. Aelin met his gaze and suddenly felt very exposed. And embarrassed.

“I’m so sorry,” she rasped, eyes wide as he approached. He carried a glass of water and some tylenol and Aelin sat up slowly as he settled at the edge of the couch, taking care to keep his distance.

He offered the glass and pill to her and she took them gratefully.

“You don’t need to apologise. You just need to know your limits.”

Aelin shivered at what his eyes suggested, that he could teach her those limits… and not just with drinking. She took a sip of the water and tossed the pill into her mouth, gulping down the water greedily in an attempt to distract herself from those eyes that held so many secrets and promises.

Lysandra cleared her throat awkwardly. “We’ll pay for the cleaning of the pool… and anything else you need.”

Rowan waved her apology off with a sheepish smile. “It’s not necessary however if I may…” He trailed off and rubbed the back of his neck in an almost awkward manner considering how sure Aelin had seen him act since she had met him. “I don’t know that you should head out anytime soon. It’s the middle of the night and I cleared the last of the partygoers out so you can stay. Otherwise I can call you a cab.” He gestured towards the massive bed dominating most of the bedroom, the warm sheets and heavy blankets calling out to Aelin’s shivering form as she looked towards it.

Aelin, head still slightly fuzzy but feeling much better seeing as most of the alcohol abandoned her system in her minute of shame, nodded her head - not too eagerly of course.

“That would be great, actually.” She managed, offering a hesitant smile.

Rowan caught her gaze again and she could feel it heavy upon her skin as he looked her over. Skin - pale - eyes, bright but red-ringed, dress… wet and inching up her thighs as she writhed under his assessment.

His eyes darted back to hers and she knew in that moment that his concern, his jumping from emotion to emotion was not because he was an awkward and nervous person by nature, but rather a protective one who found himself in an awkward position of a stranger offering his own bed up without strings.

Aelin also knew that they would likely be far safer here for the remainder of the night than anywhere else because of that.

“Would you happen to have any clothing that isn’t soaked through?” Aelin asked and Lysandra laughed as she recalled her own soaked state of wear.

“I have some sweaters,” Rowan said, standing up and striding over to the closet, “unfortunately, I don’t have any clothing for women as I’m not actually one so mine will have to do.”

He brought forward two cozy, oversized sweaters, both in different shades of grey and offered them to the girls who both laughed at his poor attempt at humour.

“Thank you. And I’m so sorry.” Aelin said, cursing herself slightly for letting her normal fire and wickedness dim, for being nervous at all. Rowan just seemed to... rattle her.

Rowan smiled, a quick flash of teeth. “I’ll put you to work helping me in the morning. I’m just down the hall in the guest room if you need anything. Sleep well, ladies.”

He left the girls to change out of their damp clothing and after they were both dressed in the warm sweaters that went down almost to their knees, they climbed into bed together and turned the lamps off on either side of them.

“He’s so moody, what do you think his deal is? He’s also maddeningly attractive, quite the combination if you ask me. Very much your type.”

Aelin laughed under her breath at Lysandra’s forwardness. “I won’t tell Aedion you’ve been drooling over strangers and attempting to set his cousin up with them either.”

Lysandra swatted Aelin’s arm playfully. “Do you think he’ll kill us in our sleep?”

“Lysandra!” Aelin exclaimed, turning to face her friend.

“I’m just kidding, relax.”

“He is quite beautiful, isn’t he?” Aelin asked quietly.

Lysandra grinned in the dark. “Get it, girl.”

It was Aelin’s turn to swat Lys’ arm. “There’s nothing to get. He’s just being nice because you’re drunk.”

“I’m drunk? Who threw up in his pool, passed out in said pool and then had to be rescued by the same guy and carried up the stairs?”

Aelin’s cheeks flamed, “He carried me?”

“You certainly weren’t going to get out of the pool yourself. You scared me, Aelin, all jokes aside.”

Aelin reached for Lysandra’s hand. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. That’s never happened before.”

Lysandra clasped her fingers back and squeezed reassuringly. “I forgive you. I’m just glad you’re okay.” Her voice had turned heavy with exhaustion.

“And very much not drunk now.”

“Hmmm…” Lysandra hummed and Aelin knew she was falling asleep.

“I love you, Lys.” She murmured and closed her own eyes. There was no response and before long, Aelin was lost to her own dreams.

~.~.~.~.~

In the morning, Aelin awoke with a jolt, sitting up and taking in her surroundings.

Right. Rowan. Pool. Vomit. His bed, presumably given that his clothes were in this room as well.

She ran her hands over her face and gave a slight sigh of frustration. Not her finest hour.

Lysandra was still asleep beside her and Aelin got out of bed as quietly as she could manage. She tiptoed across the floor and opened the door slowly and poking her head out to peer down the hallway. The house was quiet. She must be the only one awake.

Aelin closed the door behind her and she started down the hallway. The hall was lined with art, mostly of landscapes but it was all beautiful and tasteful and it seemed much older and more sophisticated than the man she’d met last night.

However, she was in no place to make those kinds of judgements given her own behaviour last night. She crept down the stairs, running her hand down the carved wooden banister and relishing the smoothness of the materials against her calloused hand.

Aelin came to the bottom of the stairs and stopped awkwardly as she spotted Rowan seated at the four person dining table in the dining area.

Rowan looked up over his tea and his eyes warmed as he took her in. She quickly ran a hand through her hair, having forgotten to check her appearance before she started snooping.

“Good morning, Aelin.” He said, setting his mug down, wicked delight dancing over his features as she scrambled to put herself together.

“Good morning,” she replied, trying to muster that swagger.

“Nice sweater.”

Aelin looked down at herself and bit her lip as she realised how she must look. “It is rather soft, I don’t recall the last time I slept so well.” She strutted towards him and plopped down unceremoniously across from him.

“Help yourself,” he offered, waving a hand over the table that was laden with fruits, breakfast meats and a charming teapot.

Aelin reached forward and plucked a piece of mellon from the plate with her fingers before popping it into her mouth. She hummed happily as the juices flowed over her tongue and she could have sworn Rowan’s eyes darkened almost imperceptibly from across the table.

“Do you live here all alone?” She asked, meeting his stare boldly.

“I do,” offering nothing more.

“Are you a student at the university?”

“Not any longer, I graduated two years ago but I prefered the quaintness of the university district so I purchased a home here.”

Aelin’s jaw dropped a little, “So this isn’t a frat house?”

“Is that what you thought? There were some students here - my friends - who are just about to graduate but no.” He contemplated her for a moment, green eyes narrowing in feral amusement.

“You thought you were crashing a frat party?”

Aelin poured herself some tea and added a heaping spoon of sugar to it before stirring it and taking a sip.

“Perhaps. However, I usually bring the party, not crash it.” She gave a coy smile before popping a grape into her mouth.

Rowan’s eyes definitely darkened then. “Except for last night, when you quite literally crashed into my pool.”

Aelin sputtered and laughed. “You do have a sense of humour underneath all that moodiness then, do you?”

Rowan’s face was unreadable but a muscle feathered in his cheek. “You were unconscious and drunk, defenseless and under my roof. Did you expect me to make light of it?”

Aelin felt like a petulant child being scolded suddenly and a wave of cold splashed over her.

“No, I’m sorry. You’ve done more for me in the last few hours than most would have for a stranger. Thank you.”

Rowan didn’t say anything so Aelin picked up a fork and speared a piece of sausage with it. She bit into it and almost moaned as the spices met her tongue.

“I’ve never owned a pool. How do I clean it?” She asked in between bites.

“You don’t, I’ve already called the cleaners. They’ll be here later.”

“Ah, is there anything I can do? To repay your kindness.” A glitter of mischief in her turquoise and gold eyes.

Rowan cleared his throat and Lysandra swept into the room, which spared him from answering, not even the slightest bit ashamed of her long, lean legs on display.

“Morning,” she chirped.

She sat down beside Aelin and the bubble of intensity around Aelin and Rowan shattered.

“Good morning, Lysandra. I hope you slept well.”

“Lovely, thank you. Your home is beautiful, by the way. Thanks for everything.” She loaded her plate full of food and dug in with enthusiasm.

Aelin couldn’t fathom how her friend was always able to meld into any situation with grace and ease.

The conversation turned to lighter topics and the rest of their meal flowed without further incident. When they finished helping Rowan clean up the kitchen, and Lysandra called Aedion to ask him to pick them up, Aelin couldn’t help the disappointment of parting ways that settled over her.

Lysandra ran upstairs to get changed with Aelin following slowly behind her. They changed in relative silence, their clothes having dried overnight and Lysandra nudged Aelin with a hip after they donned their dresses.

“Everything alright?”

Aelin nodded, “Just tired.”

Rowan called up the stairs, “Your ride is here!”

“Time to go! Aedion is going to be furious we didn’t have our phones,” Lysandra laughed. “I’ll just have to make it up to him.” She gave a wink and Aelin groaned.

“These are not things I want to hear, Lys.”

They departed the room, Aelin holding onto the sweater Rowan had lent her. Lysandra had left the other on the bedroom floor, her lack of manners unsurprising. When they got to the bottom of the stairs, Rowan was waiting to lead them to the door.

“Thank you for allowing me the honour of taking care of you last night, ladies.” Rowan said, holding the door open for them.

Lysandra laughed, “Anytime Rowan, really. I’m sure Aelin would kill for a second chance.”

And with that she jogged down the steps and to the waiting car where Aedion was indeed waiting and looking furious.

Aelin rolled her eyes and offered Rowan his sweater. “Don’t listen to her. But thank you.”

Rowan eyed Aelin and the sweater she offered and he cocked his head, “Keep it. It looks nice on you.”

Aelin grinned, “Such a wonderful host. Do you do this for all the women?”

Rowan sobered slightly, “There are no women, Aelin.” And the rolling purr of his voice caressing her name sent jolts of electricity through her at his admission.

“Right, well.. Thank you.” She turned away but a nagging feeling gave her pause and she couldn’t stop the compulsion to touch him at least once while she was sober.

She reached for his arm, and pulled him close, fingering the frayed threads of Rowan’s own sweater sleeve, the only flaw on the otherwise perfect facade he put forward. She doubted he even noticed.

Aelin stretched up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek swiftly before releasing him and finally gathered the courage to walk away.

She was halfway down the walkway when he called out, “Aelin.”

She paused and turned to face him, “Yes, Rowan?”

“Can I see you again?”

Aelin grinned and resumed the last few feet to the car and opened the door.

“Sure, I know where you live after all.”

She slid into the backseat and gave Rowan a little wave through the window. He didn’t return the wave but as they drove away, he watched her and she watched him until they could no longer see one another.


	2. Secrets

Aelin settled back in her seat and closed her eyes, her lips curving upwards in a small smile. The tension had eased from her shoulders when she was out of sight of that piercing pine-green stare. It wasn’t a bad tension exactly, but Aelin had felt wound so tight that she might combust if there was no release.

And there hadn’t been, at least, not in that sense. Of course, it was a huge assumption to make that Rowan would be interested in her like that.

She had thrown up in his pool, after all.

But the way he tended to her, offering to let her and Lysandra stay because it was safer than going. The burning intensity of his gaze and the promises she’d seen written across his face when he spoke of knowing ones’ limits…

Aelin shook her head and cursed inwardly. She was getting too far ahead of herself. It wasn’t as though she had even gotten Rowan’s number. A stupid move on her part, to leave it so open-ended.

“Earth to Aelin,” a bored voice interrupted her wandering and slightly inappropriate thoughts.

She opened her eyes and gave a halfhearted glare at her cousin who had stopped at a red light and was looking back at her with interest.

“Where did you go just then? I’ve asked you the same question three times.”

Aelin stuck her tongue out and Lysandra answered for her.

“She’s daydreaming of what Rowan’s hands might feel running over her b-“

“Shut it, Lys,” Aelin retorted much too quickly, which caused Lysandra to burst into laughter.

Aedion, protective as ever, merely shook his head in disbelief and mild concern.

“You don’t even know the guy, Aelin. He could be into some freaky shit. What if he’s a sadist? Do you like being humiliated and hurt?”

Aelin glared at her cousin, “Rowan was a perfect gentleman last night when he was taking care of me and you,” she rounded on Lysandra who was suddenly stone-faced now that Aelin’s temper had appeared, “and this morning there were no indications of anything like that!”

Lies.

She had felt that dominating presence, squirmed under his heavy watchful gaze this morning at breakfast. He hadn’t given anything away but he had been pleasant enough to give her no reason to think he might be a sadist.

She couldn’t speak for anything else, though.

The prospect of that did not frighten her as much as it perhaps should have. A delicious tingle crawled down her spine instead. She wondered indeed what Rowan’s hands might feel like, roving over her body and possibly bringing her to places she didn’t know she was capable of going physically.

She had been with one man before, Chaol, and while it had fell to pieces in the span of a week, Aelin still desired to be worshipped. To be held and touched. But while offers for companionship had come her way over the last several months, no one had piqued her interest quite enough to bring it to that next level.

It was silly, really. Her mind was out of control this morning.

Aedion tapped Aelin’s knee from the front seat.

“Are you even listening?”

Aelin stuck her tongue out again, directing it towards her cousin. Aedion huffed and fell silent. She knew he meant well but he was overreacting based on whatever assumptions he had on where her head was at. It’s not like anything had happened.

Yet.

“No more arguing. We should go shopping for dresses so we can go to that new club tonight. The one that just opened up. I feel like dancing,” Lysandra said, mercifully easing the tension in the car.

“Don’t you think you partied enough what with last night? You didn’t even make it home.”

“Aedion, why are you always so grumpy? Come on, let your hair down and we’ll get you something pretty to wear,” Aelin teased, trying to let go of the animosity radiating between them.

Aedion sighed heavily in defeat, ‘Fine. Where do you want to go shopping?”

“I know just the place,” Lysandra offered with a wicked grin.

~.~.~.~.~

“You call these clothes? I don’t even know if half of this classifies as a shirt let alone a dress.” Aedion was complaining as the girls went through the various displays, pulling different dresses in any shade of colour they could find.

Aelin grinned, holding up a tiny red number that she was certain, even with her lithe form, would not cover much of her at all. “Aedion, this would look just darling on you. Be a dear and go try it on.”

Aedion glared at her before stalking off to find the men’s section, taking the hint.

Lys grabbed Aelin’s arm, careful not to nudge the towering stack of clothing in her arms only to drag her to the changing rooms, clearly deciding that no more options were necessary.

After twenty or so minutes and some grumbling from Aedion, Aelin had finally chosen a dress. When she had shown Lys, her only comment had been, “what is your obsession with gold?”

Aelin chose not to answer, only because she didn’t really have one. It just complimented her features well and she liked looking like liquid gold.

It helped that it was also quite eye-catching.

For the remainder of the day, Aedion and Aelin managed to keep their tongues in check and there were no further arguments. They were able to enjoy their day, eating and lounging at the home they all shared together before they deemed it an appropriate time to get ready and head out.

~.~.~.~.~

Aelin, Lysandra and Aedion were deposited by their uber driver in front of the newly opened club. Aelin let out a low whistle as she beheld the classy décor outside of the club. It was simple but obviously high end, given the red velvet ropes corralling what must have been hundreds of people into neat and orderly lines and the bouncers who looked more like body guards, holding and checking their clipboards with the wireless comms decorating their ears.

The name of the club, Mistward, was mounted on the wall, written in a flowing cursive font with a back-light slowly pulsating behind it.

Aelin nudged Lysandra’s hip and cocked a questioning brow.

“This place is fancy. Where did you hear about it?”

Lysandra took in the building too before answering, “I can’t remember, but I feel like I should know… I was probably drunk.”

Lysandra have a playful grin and pulled Aelin after her, Aedion already standing in line with his arms crossed, looking for all the world like he was about to get his teeth pulled out at the dentist.

“Cheer up, cousin. This should be fun,” Aelin offered, patting him on his heavily muscled arm in a mockery of consolation.

Aedion rolled his eyes. “I’m just surprised you can’t think of anything better to do with your time. You were just at a party last night and now you’re here?”

Aelin stuck her tongue out at her cousin, “I certainly do have better things to do but you would miss my stunning personality and my quick wit.”

Aedion finally broke into a grin. “Someone thinks highly of themselves. And that tongue of yours is going to get you in trouble someday.”

“I have to, in order to keep up with your sass and you never mind about my tongue.”

Lysandra linked arms with both Aelin and Aedion, “Enough you two. Let’s just have fun.”

“If we ever get in,” Aedion complained, eyeing the long line ahead of them.

“Maybe we could flash the bouncer,” Lys offered, a mischievous smile gracing her full lips.

“Maybe Aedion should, he could find men attractive, you know.”

“No one is flashing anyone, look.”

The bouncer was coming towards them, an aura of agitation stalking along with him.

“You three,” he snapped, “you’ve been moved to the front of the line.” He then stalked away, taking his aggression with him and not checking to see if they were following.

Aelin’s brows rose and she looked to Aedion and Lys who both wore the same confused expressions on their own faces.

“Well, I suppose we better follow the man.” And Aelin slid under the velvet rope with her companions in tow.

When they reached the door, the man ushered them in and immediately, it was as though they were in another world. The pulsing from the heady beats from the sound system reaching them from even the entrance. The smoky atmosphere from the various fog machines around the dance floor mingled with the coloured strobe lights and Aelin could swear she was drunk off of the sensory assault alone.

They walked down the stairs, the lights glinting off the metallic gold of Aelin’s dress the rested high enough on her thighs that it could be indecent if she bent over.

Could be was the key word, just enough to tease but never enough to be improper.

She fixed the spaghetti straps on her shoulders and stalked down the remainder of the steps, her swagger and confidence taking over from the confusion of their sudden and unexplained admittance.

“Shall we dance or drink first?” Lys asked, taking Aedion’s hand in her own.

Aelin’s eyes glinted, “Like you have to even ask, my love.” She teased, blowing a kiss to her dearest friend.

After having a few shots a piece, the girls and Aedion made their way to the dance floor with Aelin leading the way, fearless as always.

She lost herself to the music, letting it overwhelm and consume her thoughts and desires before she was nothing more but a whisper on the wind, her body no longer bound to the world around her.

When her sweat trickled down her forehead into her eyes, she wiped the moisture away, certain her mascara was running before opening them to take in her surroundings. She saw Aedion and Lysandra a foot away, lost in one another’s movements. Aelin smiled as she beheld the two closest people to her so deeply entwined with one another that there was no room for insecurities or doubts. It was just them.

She closed her eyes and made to spin around but halfway through her spin, she was caught by someone.

Her eyes flew open.

There he was.

As disarmingly attractive and intense as he had been this morning when she had left him, uncertain of when she may see him again.

“Aelin,” he murmured, pulling her vibrating body towards him so his voice caressed her ear.

A whisper of pleasure licked down her spine at the pure dominance he uttered her name with and she pressed her thighs together unabashedly.

Rowan caught the motion, eyes darkening as he took her in.

“Are you who I should be thanking for getting us in here?”

Rowan’s hands settled on Aelin’s hips as he moved seamlessly along with her to the music.

“Perhaps.” His face gave nothing else away.

“How did you swing that?”

“I have my ways.”

Aelin looped her arms around Rowan’s shoulders and pressed closer to him, the hard outlines of his body melding perfectly with her own curves. She felt alive in his arms. She felt like living flame as she writhed against him to the beat of the song.

“So mysterious tonight, Rowan. Why the secrets?”

Rowan’s pine-green eyes bore into her own turquoise and gold ones almost as though he could read straight through to her soul. She felt bare under his scrutiny. Normally, her inner walls were so solid that she never had to worry about anyone seeing the real her.

Not Rowan, though.

Her knees quaked slightly as a hand drifted from her waist to cup her chin. He ran a proprietary thumb across her lower lip.

“So many questions tonight.” He merely said.

Aelin’s eyes narrowed. “You’re not playing nice.”

“I never said I did. If you’re looking for nice, then you’ve come to the wrong place.”

Aelin’s mind whirled at the implications. “But last night…”

Rowan cocked his head, running his wandering hand down her neck and over her bare shoulder, setting Aelin shuddering under his warm touch.

“I already told you this morning, you were sick. I wouldn’t leave your safety to chance while under my roof.” He reminded her smoothly.

She knew, it was more of a test for his consistencies but she wanted to know more. Needed to. And the effects of the alcohol combined with the music and dancing had made her brave.

“What isn’t nice about you?” Her voice didn’t falter but it came from a more seductive place within her.

He pulled her closer, a distance she hadn’t realised she had let come between them while she was lost in the velvet smoothness of his words, the utter intensity of his presence.

“Do you want to go somewhere else?” Rowan asked.

“Somewhere more private?” She gave him a sultry little smile.

The sides of his lips quirked up just enough in answer to her question.

“One second,” she stepped away from Rowan towards her cousin and best friend, head dizzy as she left that bubble that had once again formed around them, blocking everything and everyone but them out.

She tapped Aedion’s shoulder and he looked up and away from Lysandra. Aelin pointed to Rowan who stood a few feet away, arms crossed and clearly waiting for her.

“I’m going to go talk to Rowan somewhere I can hear him. I’ll catch up with you later, okay?”

Aedion sized up the other man, not sure if he should trust him. Lysandra poked him in the chest.

“No pissing contests tonight, let her go. She’ll be safe.”

Aelin could barely hear over the music but she pecked Aedion on the cheek and hugged Lys before turning back to Rowan. He offered a hand to her and normally she would have swatted it away, citing something about not needing assistance, but she secretly craved the electricity that buzzed between them at his touch.

Rowan led her off the dance floor and up a hidden set of stairs she hadn’t spotted while she had been dancing. The hallway still pulsed with the music but it was more muted, more private and away from prying eyes. He took a key from his pocket when they reached a non-descript door halfway down the hallway. When the door was unlocked and opened, he held it open for her and she slipped by him into the office.

The room was decorated much like Rowan’s home, classy and clean with lovely art bedecking the walls. An oversized sofa took up one of the walls and a desk with a massive chair and computer lined the far wall. He closed the door behind him and allowed her to take in the surroundings.

“So, you do own this place.”

Rowan nodded, face unreadable.

“You’re awfully young to be a business owner.”

He prowled towards where she was standing in the middle of the room and her stomach squirmed as he neared.

“This is what you want to talk about?” Rowan’s voice dominated the small room.

Aelin’s pulse was erratic as he stopped behind her. There was an irrational part of her that thought her heart might stop the next time Rowan touched her but he didn’t. Not yet.

Rowan’s breath tickled the back of her neck and Aelin’s core clenched in an involuntary response. He wasn’t even touching her yet and she could hardly breathe with the need for more.

“What do you want, Aelin?”

His voice was low, guttural but more in control than Aelin herself felt.

She cleared her throat in an attempt to find her own voice.

“You have to tell me,” he murmured, more commanding than she’d yet to see from him, giving her a taste of what was to come before she decided how far she wanted to go.

She had her suspicions about what “not nice” might entail but the reckless and wild part of her craved more regardless. Aelin wanted to know just how not nice he could be.

Her breath faltered as she felt the heat of him close in on her and her desire to touch him again was almost painful. Aelin’s skin felt too tight and she swallowed audibly, refusing to be embarrassed as heat pooled at her centre. She could feel the wetness between her legs already, and there was no part of her that doubted where this encounter might end.

He settled his hands on her shoulders and pulled her close to him, her back snug to the warmth of his chest.

She felt every hardened inch of him pressed against her but his hold on her shoulders tightened as if knowing she was dying to turn to face him, to trace the clearly defined lines of his abdomen with her fingers and explore his body as thoroughly as she wanted him to explore her own.

Rowan ran his hands over her shoulders before leaning down to press a searing kiss on the tender spot between her neck and shoulder. She shivered and a whimper escaped her lips when he grazed his teeth over the same sensitive flesh.

“We cannot move forward if you don’t tell me, Aelin.”

Aelin, mustering whatever senses hadn’t abandoned her when Rowan had prowled towards her in that predatory manner of his, finally spoke.

“I want to know.”

Rowan’s teeth grazed her skin again and she shivered under his knowing tongue.

That tongue.

What it could do to her already and it wasn’t even near where she desperately craved.

“It’s not as easy as all that, Aelin.”

Gods, the way he said her name should have sent her running but all she wanted to do was jump him. Jump him and fist her hands in the short silver hair, tug him to her and taste him on her own lips.

“Then teach me,” she whispered, breath abandoning her along with her senses.

Rowan groaned low in his throat and she felt the impressive length of him against her backside. She ground into him, cheeks flushing as her blood heated. If she could see herself in a mirror, she knew what she would find.

Rowan spun her towards him, no longer gentle. He pulled her as close as was possible and then set his hands on her rear, pulling Aelin up so her legs wrapped around his waist. Rowan stepped towards the wall and pressed her into it, carrying her as if she was nothing more than feather-light.

Her back chilled as she leaned into the hard, cool wall and her breathing was so heavy she was almost ashamed at her lack of control.

Rowan pressed against her, taking all her air, consuming and dominating the almost non-existent space between them.

His eyes had darkened and his nostrils flared as Aelin’s heated core pressed against him, her hips gyrating selfishly for release from the hedonistic atmosphere.

Rowan took her chin in his hand again and leaned in, close enough that she felt his breath on her lips and then he murmured the one word that shattered the last of her senses.

“No.”


	3. Lessons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They have sex. Vanilla sex. And then they talk about the possibility for more. That's a summary.

Aelin felt the rejection like a bucket of ice water washing over her, her body stiffening in Rowan’s grip. Rowan lowered his hand from her jaw and studied her features intently, still somehow managing to take all the oxygen right along with her arousal out of the room.

She could feel the length of him pressing against her with impressive demand which only furthered the confusion of the entire encounter.

Biting at her lip to keep from cursing Rowan out, she tried to wiggle out of the compromising position in which she felt currently trapped. But Rowan only held her tighter, refusing to let her down unless it was on his own terms, whatever suited the game that only he knew the rules to.

“What do you mean, no?” She breathed, chest constricting with embarrassment. Aelin just wanted out, out of his arms, out of the room and to pretend that this wasn’t happening, had never happened.

Rowan smoothly unwrapped Aelin’s long legs from around his waist and ever so gently slid her down his front until her feet hit the floor, hands running up her legs and hips before coming to rest on Aelin’s waist.

Aelin’s skin tingled and sung at the contact, the pure dominance of his touch and presence. He was too much and her, too conflicted, all thoughts scattering with no semblance of order or sense. Rowan still hadn’t answered the question, a sliver of doubt and shame taking root in her gut as the long silence rang on.

“I told you, it wouldn’t be as simple as all that.” He finally murmured, breath tickling her ears as he towered over, pressing closer still.

Aelin was intoxicated by his presence, hating to admit it given her current predicament. Setting shaking hands on either of his biceps, she gently pushed him away, her desperation for a reprieve making itself known.

“Don’t run,” was all he said as he took a step back.

Aelin suddenly felt dizzy at the loss of his heat and she wobbled on unsteady legs towards the sofa along the one side of the room. She plopped down, unceremoniously, self-consciously tugging her molten gold dress down to provide some sort of physical barrier or shield between them. Rowan settled on the edge of the desk, facing her with his arms crossed, face impassive.

“I asked you to teach me and you said no. What isn’t simple about that?” She finally snapped.

Aelin felt his gaze of assessment rake over her but she avoided meeting that gaze, refusing to acknowledge the thoughts flashing as his slight annoyance clouded the room.

Sometimes, being so attuned to the emotions of the people around Aelin really bit her in the ass, especially when overbearing alpha male types were concerned.

“Look at me, Aelin.” There was no question, no room for her petty behaviour or mild insecurities.

She suddenly understood why it wouldn’t be as simple as all that, as Rowan kept repeating. Aelin met those knowing green eyes, and waved an impatient hand indicating he could proceed.

Something flickered across his face but it was gone the next second, but he uncrossed his arms and braced them on the edge of the desk, relaxed, confident of his place in the world. Probably confident he ruled the whole world, Aelin thought only slightly maliciously.

“I don’t mean to offend but you are inexperienced and my world is so much more than what you know.”

“How could you know?” The question was pointless — they both knew it but her pride and short temper ruled out as it often did.

The half-smile that played across his lips infuriated her beyond belief. It was frustrating how quickly he could bounce her from mood to mood, as though he knew exactly which buttons to press in the obviously rigged game of his. How could she play before she knew the rules?

“You want to be taught but you lack the ability to listen.” He stepped away from the desk and prowled towards her, taking a seat on the other side of the couch.

“Is that an offer to teach me? For someone claiming he does not intend to offend, you are doing a marvelous job of the exact opposite.”

She folded her hands together in her lap hoping to control her sharp tongue, the tongue that often got her into far more trouble than she counted on. If Aelin wanted to play the game, to learn the rules and find out how to win, she would need to keep her mouth firmly clamped shut.

Rowan’s eyes darkened. “The things I would do to that mouth, Aelin… You would be begging me to close it when I was through.”

The mouth in question popped opened in surprise at the same time heat pooled in Aelin’s core.

“Come again?”

Rowan leaned back and crossed one leg over the other knee, resting one hand on his raised knee and the other along the arm of the sofa and chuckled lightly at what he found on her face.

“I haven’t yet, but if that’s an offer I should think it foolish to refuse.”

Aelin stood up abruptly. “You know what, Rowan,” she spat his name at him, anger once more fueling her, “If you didn’t want me or this or whatever, I don’t know why you bothered tracking me down and letting my friends and I in so you could just torture and tease me.”

She stalked away, flinging her long golden hair over one shoulder in frustration.

Just as her hand touched the door knob, Rowan was there, faster than any man had any right to be, pulling her towards him. She barely had time to gather her wits before his hand cupped her cheek and his lips were crushing down against her own.

Aelin couldn’t even stiffen, wouldn’t. The heat, the pleasure, the desire that quickly replaced her anger, utterly consumed her. His lips were soft against her own but not gentle, oh no, he kissed her with a ferocity that made Aelin’s knees weak. His tongue nudged at her bottom lip for her to open.

She wisely obeyed.

Rowan was not hesitant in the claiming of her mouth and a shameless, low moan ripped from her chest which caused his breath to catch. He bit down on her lip and a she let out a small cry, fisting her hands in his soft silver hair.

Rowan reached for her thighs again and pulled Aelin up against him, slamming her back into the door.

Aelin didn’t even care for the flash of pain.

All she could see, feel, desire was the press of those wicked lips against her entire body.

Rowan’s tongue swept through her mouth once more before he broke the kiss off, panting heavily.

“You can have it your way only once before you step into my world. Take it or leave it, Aelin.” He rasped.

Aelin shuddered at the implications but the wild and reckless side of her wanted everything. No matter the cost.

“Teach me,” was all she whispered before Rowan claimed her mouth once more with a vicious growl.

His lips were fervent, bruising her own with the ferocity of his attentions. Then he was at her ear, nibbling her lobe before lowering his mouth to bite her neck.

Aelin whimpered, core pounding with the need for him. Like a siren’s call, his fingers dipped between her legs and tore at her panties.

Again, she was unable to care about the loss — there was only his fingers trailing along her thighs so teasingly towards her slickness.

When his fingers met her centre she cried out, gripping at his shoulder and scratching at his skin. Rowan’s fingers were devious things. They knew exactly where to touch, how much pressure she needed and before Aelin could even begin to catch her brain up to where her body had taken over, she was cresting over a waterfall and crashing into the waves below.

Her body sung. Her limbs felt heavy. It was the fastest she had ever come before, even when she masturbated on her own.

“We’re not done,” Rowan growled in her ear and just as swiftly, Aelin’s senses reignited.

He carried her over to the couch and set her down, fingers tracing wild patterns against her burning skin.

“I regret that I cannot properly bed you here so you’ll forgive my baser animalistic tendencies.”

And despite the words being so out of place in the room, Aelin could only gasp as Rowan faced her towards the couch with gentle swiftness and pressed her down so she was leaning over the arm of the couch. He yanked her dress up to bare her ass and shredded the remnants of the underwear so the scraps of lace fell to the ground in a delicate heap.

He ran a possessive hand over her exposed rear and Aelin felt as though she would burn the entire building to ground with only that touch igniting her. She distantly heard his pants being undone and fabric against skin before he was pressing his thick length against her ass.

Aelin trembled—there was no way it wouldn’t hurt. It had been too long since her last time.

And as though Rowan could hear her thoughts, he pressed his still-clothed chest to her back and murmured, “Relax, I promise you won’t feel any pain. I only aim to please,” a wicked seduction of words.

There was a slight crinkle of foil – thank the gods - she hadn’t even been prepared or coherent enough to consider protection.

Aelin grabbed at the couch, bracing as Rowan repositioned himself and carefully lifted her hips up and aligning the wide crest of his cock against her entrance.

“Ready?” He asked, voice laboured with the restraint he no doubt had on himself for this one time, this one experience that he promised her.

She nodded but that wasn’t enough. “I need to hear you say it, Aelin.”

“I’m ready,” she breathed and then he sheathed himself in one long stroke.

Aelin saw stars.

Her cry of pleasure was deafening.

Rowan’s growl at the tightness squeezing him like a glove caused Aelin’s core to tighten.

He held her there, hips suspended in the air before he slowly withdrew and slammed back into her. Whatever control he had, snapped then.

His speed increased, breathing became impossible and there was little Aelin could do but try to hold on.

Rowan had promised it wouldn’t hurt and while the fit initially had been uncomfortable, his promise held true. Aelin could barely keep her toes on the ground as Rowan pounded on and on, his fingers tightening against the flesh of her hips, his groans mingling with the breathless gasps tearing from Aelin’s own throat.

Aelin felt the rising tide within her again before long. Too fast – it was too fast for her to come again but the building told her otherwise and she felt all senses inside of her snap and fire as her mind emptied with the orgasm shattering her very being. Aelin couldn’t even ground herself, to grip to something as the orgasm tore through her because she was being held up by Rowan. There was no grounding and she couldn’t hide, couldn’t attempt to stifle the intensity of her climax. She cried out a garbled string of praises, pleases and something that was probably Rowan’s name.

Aelin could hear that Rowan’s breathing was wild, erratic. He was so strong to be able to hold her like this and fuck her with utter desperation as though it were his last day on earth but she felt him thicken inside of her and then a feral growl ripped from his chest and he was coming.

Rowan slowed his pace, milking his orgasm until there was nothing left. He stayed inside of Aelin as Aelin returned to her body and began picking up the shattered pieces of her mind.

To say the sex had been mind-blowing was saying the least.

Rowan pulled out of Aelin and then finally set her down. She didn’t move for a moment. Wasn’t sure she could. She heard the quiet suction of the condom being taken off and tied up so his come wouldn’t trickle out of it. Then the sounds of his pants being pulled up so he could walk.

Rowan then reached for her hands, pealing her limp form from the arm of the couch.

“Are you okay?” Genuine concern.

Aelin shifted awkwardly on her feet, clutching at Rowan’s large hands as she recemented herself on the earth.

“I think so. I just. I didn’t know it could be so… intense.”

Rowan’s eyes, the edge softened with his own release, sparked with mirth. “You previous lovers weren’t doing their job, then.”

He led her to another door she had missed before off to the right of the desk and opened it to reveal a tidy washroom. He pulled her along after him and grabbed a washcloth from a towel cupboard before wetting it and offering it to Aelin.

Aelin was quiet as she cleaned herself up and watched Rowan dispose of the used condom with quick efficiency before tidying himself up as well. When they finished, Rowan gripped her hand again and led her back to the couch.

“Talk to me.”

“Lover.” She offered.

“Pardon?”

“It was only one lover. Not multiple.”

Rowan nodded slowly, once, twice before sitting them both on the couch. She welcomed the warmth of him pressed against her side.

“I knew it wasn’t many but I would understand if you had any reservations going forward.”

Aelin stared up at him, he still towered over her even while they sat.

“First, I would like to know what going forward entails. I will decide after.”

Rowan’s eyes flickered briefly with annoyance, clearly used to giving the orders and not receiving them.

“As you have likely guessed already, I am usually in control sexually. I prefer to give orders, to carefully cultivate bringing my sexual partner satisfaction, as well as my own. I make rules and I expect them to be followed.”

Aelin chewed on her lip before responding. “So, you’re a dominant?”

“Indeed, and I prefer my partners to be submissive. The balance of power is necessary.”

Aelin snorted, “How could the power be balanced if one person is making all the calls?”

Rowan held her small tanned hand within his own, gently stroking the smooth skin as they spoke.

“The submissive is actually the party who holds the power, it’s a common misconception. I certainly give orders and determine what we would be engaging in but the submissive always has the choice to stop. To set their own limits.”

Aelin gaped at him. How calmly he discussed this as though it were nothing more than an everyday business arrangement!

“So… safe words?”

“Another necessity. I need to know if anything is too much for my partner as I explore how far I can take them.”

“Do I have to call you sir?” She asked jokingly.

Rowan chuckled, face breaking out into an easy smile. He was so in his element here and it was terribly disarming compared to the intensity and seriousness of him outside of sex.

“No, but I certainly like hearing ‘gods’ and ‘Rowan’ in the same sentences.”

Aelin rolled her eyes. “Egomaniac.”

“Sex god,” he countered.

“Do we have to sign a contract or something? I’ve read that some Dom/Sub relationships do that.” She deflected. Aelin was sure he likely was after the couple of orgasms she’d already had but she would never admit it.

Rowan shook his head. “This isn’t a movie and it’s certainly not a book. We are consenting adults who can choose our limits and when to stay and when to go. Sex doesn’t have to be drawn out in a contract to be enjoyable. I just like my rules and my control.”

Aelin shifted slightly beside him.

“What about punishment?”

“If the situation calls for it, then yes. But I would always make sure you feel pleasure more than pain.”

“Then what’s the point? How will I learn?” Aelin asked mockingly.

“The point is if I want to spank you because you aren’t listening, I’m going to spank you and you’re going to sit there and take it. And then I will fuck you after.”

Aelin’s mouth dried. She wanted him again. He knew it too.

“Do you do this often?”

“This as in fuck girls in the office of a club I own? No. Never. You’re the first.”

Aelin shot him a side-long glare. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

Rowan chuckled darkly. “You’re not the first I’ve had an arrangement with, no. But you are the only one I will be fucking during our time together.”

“And when we’re through, you move onto the next one?”

Aelin’s heart thudded unevenly as she waited for his answer.

Rowan contemplated her a moment before he replied. “Does that bother you?”

Yes. Maybe. I don’t know, she thought quickly. “No.”

He tugged at her hand. “First rule is we don’t lie to one another, Aelin. If this is going to work we have to trust in each other.”

“The truth is, Rowan, I don’t know. This is a first for me. What will I be to you in public? Will your friends know? What happens when you’re tired of me?”

The last question stung as it fell from her lips but it was too late, it was out there.

Rowan tugged Aelin into his lap then, so she straddled him and was forced to stare directly into those worldly pine-green eyes, unable to hide. His hands resting on her now exposed thighs, daring closer to the soft pink exposed skin of her centre now that she was without undergarments.

Aelin’s breathing deepened and her skin burned at the leisurely exploration of his fingers.

“You will be whatever you want to be to me in public. Whatever feels natural to us. Casual sex isn’t as taboo as it once was so if you prefer to be distant in public, then I will give you that. If you feel more comfortable dating, then we can date. And my friends can keep their rutting noses out of it,” he paused, “as for tiring of you, we should both be able to mutually decide when we have gotten what we wanted out of the arrangement.”

His words were so casual. Dating for the sake of fucking, as if it really didn’t matter to him. She suddenly felt very cold despite the fingers inching closer and closer to her clit. Aelin reached and stopped his hands.

“Don’t. And it’s not as though what we would be doing is exactly casual.”

He stopped and she took in a deep breath. It was a lot of information and she needed time to think it all over.

“I don’t suppose you’d just want to have sex for the sake of sex, then.”

Rowan’s hands rested on her thighs, unmoving without her permission.

“We did just have sex for the sake of sex, Aelin.”

As if she could forget.

“Do I have to answer you right now?”

Rowan shrugged, but she could sense his disappointment. “If I am being honest, I would like to have an answer before you leave me again, so I don’t have to wonder… But you can take as much time as you need.”

There was that uncompromising honesty. The bare truth. At least she knew he wasn’t lying or downplaying himself and what he wanted.

“I would like some time to think.”

Rowan nodded, expecting the answer. He reached into his pants, shifting Aelin slightly to gain access to his pocket and pulled out his phone.

“Text your phone so you have my number, and so I can have yours as well.”

Aelin snagged the smartphone out of Rowan’s hands and programmed her number into the contacts before sending herself a text. When she finished, she handed him back his device and he slipped it back into his pocket.

“What now?” Aelin asked too mischievously to be casual.

“Well, I have some work to do but I can walk you back out to your friends first.”

Aelin climbed out of Rowan’s lap and stood up. “I can find my own way. I shouldn’t keep you any longer than I already have.”

Rowan’s lips quirked up in a feline smile. “Trust me Aelin, it was more than worth the delay.”

Aelin grinned back and turned away, pausing to snatch up the lace scraps on the ground. Rowan had followed her and she tossed them towards him. He caught them and cocked a questioning eyebrow.

“To remember me by.” She joked.

Rowan wasn’t entirely amused.

“I’m joking, gods. Can you please get rid of them, I can’t exactly wear them anymore or carry them out of here.” She prompted.

Rowan finally smiled, “It would be my pleasure to do your dirty work for you.”

Aelin laughed and turned towards the door once more. “I’ll be in touch,” and blew him a kiss before she left the room.

~.~.~.~

When Rowan disposed of the trashed negligees, he took his phone out to check what she had texted herself. He first noted she’d saved her full name, Aelin Galathynius, with a kiss emoji next to it. The message itself is what knocked the breath from his lungs and it took every ounce of iron will not to chase after her and fuck her once more.

Please sir, corrupt me fully and fill me with you over and over. ;)


	4. Show You the Ropes

For the next few days, Aelin did her level best to keep her phone more than a few feet away from her as she returned—or tried— to work for the week. The last text she’d received from Rowan besides the one she had sent herself had been nothing more than his full name – Rowan Whitethorn.

So, she gritted her teeth and ignored the pulsing between her legs that demanded Rowan’s attention once more and went to work.

It wasn’t as though said work was uneventful. Aelin was a Social Media Intern at Doranelle News and she loved her job – especially as it had been one of the very select and prestigious paid positions they had offered. It got her out in the public, interacting with clients and new business partners while she built their brand and shared the latest news on all her favourite sites.

That being said, her phone was always attached to her which made her current predicament a little more difficult. Aelin had checked that chat conversation too many times, waiting for a new blue bubble of text to show up, for the three dots indicating someone was typing.

But it remained obstinately silent.

Aelin was new to this dominant/submissive arrangement and she realised she wasn’t sure if she was even allowed to text him first. She probably should have been clearer in what she wanted publicly; then, perhaps, this new obsession of checking her phone incessantly wouldn’t be so utterly consuming.

Granted, Aelin wasn’t sure what she wanted publicly. She knew herself to be rather territorial… As such, claiming Rowan as hers while this arrangement played out was the easiest option. Still, it was probably safest her sanity that she take time to decide on that front.

At any rate, deciding at a time when her libido wasn’t in charge seemed the wisest course of action.

Aelin set her phone back down on her desk yet again and looked up across the way to see Lysandra watching her, the end of her pen stuck between her perfect teeth.

“Nothing yet?”

“Are you stalking me?”

Lysandra chuckled and set her pen on the desk. “You’ve been obsessively checking your phone for four days. It’s pretty obvious at this point.”

Aelin stuck her tongue out at her best friend just as Lys shook her head slightly in warning, green eyes widening almost imperceptibly.

“Very professional, Miss Galathynius.”

Aelin’s stomach dropped a little as the icy voice of Maeve interrupted her. She took a moment to compose herself and faced her boss.

Maeve was, as always, perfectly put together in a deep purple designer pant suit without a strand of obsidian hair out of place. Her beauty was so at odds with the cold, black depths of her dark eyes.

Aelin plastered on a half-smile, doing her best to be polite while masking the utter hatred she harboured for her boss. “Good afternoon, Maeve. Is there anything I can get you?”

Maeve’s black eyes glittered as though she would like nothing more than to fire Aelin. Most days, Aelin was sure she tried by making baseless accusations to upper management but since she was well respected, well liked and the best intern they had seen in years, her superior’s plans were always foiled.

“I just wanted to ensure my intern isn’t wasting company time is all. Be sure to keep that tongue of yours where it belongs, won’t you darling?”

Aelin smiled blandly, once more weaving that sickly-sweet politeness into her tone. “Absolutely, Maeve. Let me know if you need anything.”

The willowy woman gave a last weighing look before she spun on her heel and retreated to her office. When the door slammed closed behind her, Aelin faced Lys and burst into laughter.

“She has it out for you,” Lys laughed, a grin spreading across her impossibly perfect face.

“If I’m ever reported missing and suspected dead, she’s the number one suspect.”

Aelin’s phone buzzed then and her eyes widened slightly as his name finally popped up on the screen. She hastily unlocked her smartphone with her fingerprint and clicked the message icon.

I’ll pick you up from work tomorrow when you finish. Text me the address and the time. Don’t bring anything.

Aelin looked up.

“And?”

“Tomorrow after work. He told me not to bring anything.”

“Anything, anything? What about underwear?” Lys asked mockingly.

Aelin grinned wickedly at her friend. “He didn’t specify.”

“He’s my number one suspect if you go missing.” Lysandra gave a feline smile and Aelin knew her friend was kidding.

Aelin smiled as she typed out a response and hit send before adding to Lys, “I mean, he can’t tie me up and leave me somewhere, can he?”

Lysandra shook her head in disbelief. “You really have no idea what you’re getting into, do you?”

Aelin shrugged. “I’ve read enough books to get the general idea. And maybe I’d like being tied up and left.”

“I can guarantee, you will not like it when he leaves you just as you’re about to come and doesn’t tell you when he’s coming back and because you’re tied up, you can’t even find your own release.”

“You seem to have a lot of opinions on the subject. What do you know about it?” Aelin asked with an amused smile.

Lysandra winked. “You don’t want to know. Trust me.”

Instantly, Aelin regretted asking. “Gross,” she muttered, wrinkling her nose.

“She’s coming back. Look busy.”

Aelin rolled her eyes and tried to focus on her work for the remainder of the day, counting the hours until she would see him, to have Rowan inside of her again.

~.~.~.~

Unfortunately for Aelin, Friday seemed inclined to torture her by going so excruciatingly slow that she was certain time was going backwards. She had burned through all her tasks for the day far too quickly and spent most of the day tapping her pen against her desk, much to Lysandra’s dismay.

When the clock finally rolled over to five, Aelin barely bade Lys a decent farewell before she was running out the door.

Lysandra called after Aelin loud enough for the rest of the office to overhear, “Text me so I know you’re alive and not trapped in some crazy sex vortex!”

Aelin waved impatiently, not caring who saw or heard and blew her a kiss as she ran out the door. She nearly collided with the figure that had miraculously appeared in front of her.

“Going somewhere?” A familiar rolling accent asked, large masculine hands gripping her shoulders as she regained her balance.

“Rowan! Shit, sorry.” Aelin offered, surprised. “That’s not embarrassing,” she added wryly, more to herself than to him.

Rowan released his hold on her and offered her an armed instead, deflecting Aelin’s sarcasm and obvious embarrassment easily enough. “You seem to be in a rush. Hot date?”

Aelin took his arm and frowned up at him. “I thought he was hot but honestly, his ego is so out of check that I’m afraid to tell him lest his head expand three times too big and explode.” She looked him up and down as he chuckled, taking in the fine make of his black suit paired with a black dress shirt and green tie that complimented his eyes wonderfully. “So formal, Mr. Whitethorn. What’s the occasion?”

Rowan led her outside of the building and opened the back door to the black town car idling on the curb and ushering her inside. Aelin scooted to the far side before he slid in, that graceful and powerful body of his making that simple act so erotic. Then again, it wasn’t as though Aelin could be trusted to not find anything erotic about the man before her.

“I had some important meetings today, thus the formal attire.”

Aelin sucked on her bottom lip. “You look…” She began, trailing off briefly before settling lamely on, “nice.”

Rowan’s lips twitched slightly before he turned in his seat to face her fully and giving instructions to his driver take them to his home.

“How was your week, Aelin?”

“Long,” she fired back, cocking a challenging, perfectly groomed eyebrow at the double entendre.

Light danced in those piercing green eyes before he countered, “And your workload?”

Aelin bit her lip to refrain from breaking out into a ridiculous grin, silently rejoicing in the fact that Rowan enjoyed verbal sparring as much as she did.

“Hard.”

Rowan gave a throaty chuckle. “Clever little fox.”

“You’re a worthy opponent,” Aelin conceded, tucking her long golden hair over one shoulder and baring her neck.

It was a calculated move but Rowan didn’t take the bait this time. His physical control was far greater than her own, a fact she was already aware of, given their discussion last weekend, but still… there was a thrill to be had in teasing the man before her, to see if she could get a rise from Rowan regardless of his incomparable experience.

The tension in the car rose and Aelin had to take a deep breath in through her nose to calm the heady anticipation in the air. She watched as Rowan took his phone out of his pocket and began typing away on it.

“Sorry. Just have to clear a few things from my schedule for tomorrow, then I’m all yours.”

A large part of her was thrilled that he was willing to make those sacrifices for her. Still, there was that other side, the pesky one she rarely let out to play, that wondered if it was just because Rowan wanted to fuck or if he genuinely wanted to spend time with her. Aelin tried not to let those billowing dark clouds of doubt shadow her experience. The last thing she wanted was to be stuck in her head and forget to enjoy the ride.

If only she were so advanced.

She sighed softly, more out of annoyance at herself than anything else. Rowan tucked his phone away then and asked, “Everything alright?”

Aelin chewed on her cheek before answering, “I think so. Just nervous, really.”

“I was wondering how you might feel about not using condoms,” he asked casually.

Aelin shrugged. “I’m on birth control and I’m clean. Assuming you’re clean, I have no issue forgoing them.”

“I am. I can show you my medical records when we get to my house.”

“I trust you.”

“Good.”

By then, the driver had pulled up to Rowan’s home in the quiet university district he resided in and she was momentarily saved from his scrutiny as they exited the vehicle. He offered Aelin an arm again and when she linked it with his, he led the way up the brick walkway and through the front door.

Again, she was struck by how warm and inviting his home was. Decorated tastefully with fine art pieces, coloured in warm and inviting hues of beige and brown. Cozy. It was all so cozy and so completely at odds with the thrumming in Aelin’s blood, the rapid beat of her heart and the speed at which her mind raced with the possibilities she may be presented with.

He closed the door behind them and then released his hold on her. Aelin stood rather awkwardly in the foyer as he removed his suit jacket and draped it over the back of an armchair. Aelin’s mouth went dry as she beheld him in the vest ensemble that did much for painting a picture of how fit he was.

Aelin’s lips quirked in a feline smile and she cocked her head to the side. “I’d like to lick your abs.”

Rowan crossed his arms and his face was impassive as he said, “My house, my rules, Aelin. You’ll do as I say and nothing more.”

Aelin’s core clenched in anticipation and she approached him brazenly, “I would make sure you liked it.”

She gave a sultry smile and made to reach for him but his hands were quick to circle her own wrists, drawing her flush against his chest and simultaneously forcing her hands behind her back in one smooth movement. Aelin was forced to look up into that beautiful tattooed face and meet that piercing, steady gaze. Her breath caught when she met the wicked delight dancing there.

“You’ll listen to me or you won’t come. Your choice.”

The vibrations from his voice reverberated in her own chest and Aelin’s knees weakened at both the threat and the contact.

“Must I obey your every command, master? That is what you desire of me?”

Rowan’s eyes darkened. Aelin knew she was in so much trouble here. He released her wrists with a warning look and, because Aelin really did want to come, she kept them behind her back.

Without so much as a word, Rowan reached for Aelin thighs and lifted her from the floor. Her breath caught as she wrapped her legs around his hips and he carried her away.

“You can hold on, but I’ll always catch you.” His voice was rough, like he was holding himself back.

Aelin didn’t bother looping her arms around his neck, relishing in the strength of him as he carried her up the stairs, breath hardly faltering with each step. She leaned back in his arms, letting herself float and her arms drag. Rowan’s grip tightened on her ass, holding her firmly in place.

“I want to be fucked like this, suspended, with only you grounding me.” Aelin could only say the bold words because she wasn’t looking at him, wasn’t forced to attempt to read and decipher that face seemingly cut from marble.

“You’re not ready,” he ground out and Aelin felt the length of him pressing against her. At that show of insistence, Aelin reached for Rowan’s shoulders and hauled herself upright in his arms.

“I want to kiss you,” she breathed, mere inches away from his nose as she wetted her lips.

Rowan had carried her down the hallway to his bedroom. It was the room she and Lys had stayed in when she was ill the previous weekend, Aelin remembered. He paused on the threshold of the dimly lit room and Aelin met his eyes, a silent question in her own.

“I want you to ask.” Aelin’s eyes narrowed slightly but she couldn’t override her need to claim his mouth, so she obeyed. Rowan’s mouth widened in a taunting smile, “You’re learning.”

Aelin rolled her eyes, but this verbal sparring only fueled her desire further. Rowan carried her to the bed and deposited her there before Aelin had the chance to kiss him. She almost complained but didn’t have the chance before Rowan gave a shake of his head.

“Do you remember when we talked about safe words?” Aelin nodded, positioning herself in the middle of the bed as he stalked around to the end and peered down at her. “I’m not going to push you too hard, but I would like to know if you’ve chosen one should you need a break.”

Aelin considered him but her mind had scattered at the needing a break part. She wasn’t sure she could ever have her fill of him. The anticipation was driving her mad. “Buzzard.”

Rowan cocked his head but Aelin could tell he had to restrain a smile, “Any special significance?”

“Perhaps. But you’ll have to find out for yourself.”

Aelin folded her hands in her lap as though she were a student awaiting instructions. In some ways, she knew, that’s exactly what she was.

“Such sass, Aelin. That cannot go unchecked.”

Rowan unbuttoned his vest and let it fall to the floor before he made quick work of his tie and shirt. Aelin let out a low whistle and her eyes flitted over every muscled plane of his chest and abdomen. He was beautiful. Every inch of him was magnificent.

Rowan snapped his fingers. “My eyes are up here, Aelin. Or do you only want me for my body?” he teased.

“Do you only want me for mine?” Aelin asked, lifting the bottom hem of her shirt up to expose the flat planes of her stomach.

Rowan’s fingers paused in the unbuttoning of his dress pants at the slim golden band of skin she revealed. “No,” he murmured.

“No what?” Her voice had turned husky.

“No more questions from you. I want you to stand up in the middle of the bed and take your clothes off one piece at a time. Slowly.”

Aelin frowned. “Don’t you want to take them off?”

“No more questions. Do it. When you’re naked, lay back down in the middle of the bed. I’ll be forced to punish you otherwise.” Rowan’s smile told her that he would delight in it.

Aelin watched as Rowan turned away and headed into his walk-in closet. He didn’t wait to see if she obeyed but Aelin was tired of playing so she stood up and disrobed. The whisper of her clothes along her skin was the only sound until Rowan entered the room again, watching as she bared herself to him.

She settled slowly onto her knees before laying back and straightening her legs. Rowan prowled towards her and she then noticed the item he was carrying. Two different lengths of black nylon rope dangled from his hands and his face was content as he beheld her nakedness.

“I’m going to bind you to the bed so you can’t move. You have to tell me if it hurts or pinches, alright?”

Aelin’s stomach clenched and she nodded as he neared her feet.

“I want you to answer me when I ask you questions. You’ll tell me if I hurt you?”

“Yes,” she managed to reply.

Rowan nodded his approval and ran a proprietary finger along Aelin’s bared ankle. She gasped, skin already burning with her desire. Rowan gripped her ankle and tied it to the bedpost.

“Good?”

“Yes.” Better than, really. It was tight enough that she couldn’t move her foot but not so tight that there was much friction.

Rowan repeated the motion with her other ankle before moving to secure her wrists. He gathered both her hands and tied them together so he could loop the rope around the slats in the headboard. When she was secure to his apparent satisfaction, he finally took off his pants and boxer briefs, allowing them to drop to the ground.

And then he smiled at Aelin and turned and left the room, allowing Aelin a show of his glorious backside.

“Where are you going,” she asked, tugging at the restraints.

“No more questions,” he called over a shoulder and then disappeared from sight.

For fuck sakes. A couple of minutes went by and he hadn’t yet returned. What the hell was he doing?

“Insufferable bastard,” she groaned just as he came back in, a cup of ice in his hand.

“I heard that.” Another wicked smile from the man but he crawled on the bed and settled between her legs.

Aelin knew she was wet already, could feel her slickness, and seeing Rowan knelt between her legs only intensified her need.

“You left.”

“But I came back with something fun.” He gestured to the glass of ice he set next to Aelin’s left leg.

His hands settled on Aelin’s thighs before he began exploring her body. Aelin was utterly at Rowan’s mercy, she couldn’t move and she couldn’t touch him. It was a new level of sexual frustration that Aelin had never encountered. Rowan’s fingers circled her hips then, kneading at her flesh enough that Aelin bucked her hips up.

Rowan chuckled lightly and pushed her hips back down. “Here’s how this is going to work,” his fingers grazed lower, running over the soft pink flesh of her. “I am going to fuck you with these,” his fingers then slid between her slick folds and he inserted two inside of her. Aelin gasped, hips bucking again. “And then I am going to put an ice cube in my mouth and I’m going to kiss you.” He paused, that wicked delight painting his smirk as he added, “Everywhere.”

Aelin lost all rational thought.

“My one rule for you, Aelin, is that you can’t move. If you move, I’ll stop fucking you. Got it?”

Aelin gave a breathless, “Yes,” before Rowan reached for an ice cube and popped it in his mouth.

His fingers began a steady pumping inside of her. Aelin gasped, “Rowan.”

He hummed before setting his mouth against her hip.

“Fuck,” she moaned, the ice chilling her burning skin, melting immediately and sending dribbles of cold water down her side.

Rowan’s mouth kissed icy trails across her stomach, dragging the ice along her skin as he went. Aelin couldn’t form a coherent sentence as his fingers drove into her again and again. The sensation of his warm mouth and the ice was unlike anything she’d ever experience. It rattled her, shook her. Knocked Aelin off balance. The inability to move away from the intensity thanks to the bonds holding her in place was too much - it was all too much.

“Rowan - I can’t,” her voice broke and her hips bucked.

Rowan immediately withdrew his fingers.

“No, no, please,” she cried.

Rowan deposited the ice cube in Aelin’s navel. “I told you what would happen if you moved.”

“I won’t move, I won’t.” She didn’t care if she had to beg, she was desperate for him to fill her again. She tugged uselessly at the bonds above her head, wanting to pull Rowan towards her.

“Please.” Frustration laced her pleas.

“Don’t move.” Rowan grabbed another ice cube and popped it in his mouth, leaving the one to melt in her navel.

Aelin nodded her head and Rowan’s fingers entered her once more. Aelin moaned in relief as his fingers resumed his previous pace, rubbing her clit with his thumb in time with each push into her. His mouth closed over one of her nipples this time.

Aelin let out a mewling cry in an attempt to stifle the need to move against him, to meet him thrust for thrust. Rowan’s icy mouth retreated from her nipple and he kissed a cold trail over to her other breast and capturing her other nipple.

“Rowan - ahh.” That cresting wave loomed inside Aelin; she was so, so close.

Rowan deposited the other ice cube on Aelin’s sternum, allowing it to slide around, melting against her burning flesh.

“Look at how you burn for me, Aelin.” He leaned down and kissed her hip, nipping at the soft flesh there.

“Please,” she gasped, ready to fall or to leap - she didn’t care. All she knew was she wanted to come.

“Let go, Aelin,” he ordered.

The pure dominance of his request undid her. She unraveled. Aelin’s head rolled to the side and the sounds coming out of her mouth were unintelligible. But Rowan let her writhe beneath him, easing his fingers out of her as she came back down from the high, mind buzzing and trying to refocus on reality around her.

The two ice cubes - now small puddles - had trickled down her sides onto the sheets beneath her. Aelin met Rowan’s eyes from where he was knelt between her legs, a self-satisfied smirk present. 

“That was… something,” she managed weakly.

Rowan reached to untie her ankles from the bedposts so her legs were free again. Aelin winced slightly when she was freed.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, just stiff.” She admitted.

“Good.” Rowan settled between her legs again and pulled her into his lap, her legs on either side of his hips, shifting closer to her so her arms weren’t completely extended.

“We’re going to fuck now. You’re allowed to move.”

Aelin glared at Rowan but any protestations were silenced as he sheathed himself in one smooth movement.

“Fuck!”

Rowan groaned and raised himself on his knees, holding Aelin’s hips up so her back was curved and her ass suspended before he started drilling into her.

Aelin jerked roughly against the rope, arms tensing and shoulders pulling but she was too focused on the relentless pounding, the assault to her senses as she rode the lingering tremors of her first orgasm.

Rowan’s grip tightened on her hips and he wasted no time angling her slightly so he would go deeper. Aelin couldn’t breathe, could barely form thoughts as Rowan’s rough pace set her reeling in another orgasm all too soon. She bit into her lip to keep from screaming and from the coppery tang in her mouth, she’d split the skin.

“Oh gods,” she gasped as Rowan slammed into her once, twice, three times before his own orgasm rocked him.

“Fuck, Aelin,” he groaned, hips rocking against her as he spilled into her.

Aelin desperately craved Rowan’s embrace, to connect with him on a more intimate level than the forging of their two bodies. “Rowan,” she breathed, a request.

Rowan eased himself out of her, his movements increasingly less savage with his desire as he read her need for more. He set her hips down before he crawled over her to untie the knot above and free her wrists. When she was free, wrists stinging and arms sore, she looked up questioningly at Rowan who hovered above her, pine green eyes boring into her own with an emotion Aelin was too scattered to place.

“Can I hold you?” He asked, heartbreakingly gentle.

Aelin nodded slowly and Rowan laid next to her before he effortlessly pulled her limp body on top of his. He tucked her head under his chin and Aelin trembled as his hands roved lightly over her body, gentle, soothing touches. She breathed his intoxicating pine and snow scent in, allowing it to calm and fill her.

“Are you okay?” It was a quiet question, but something Aelin could tell he needed the answer to.

“I’m more than okay,” she mumbled, a bone tiredness setting over her. “You didn’t hurt me and after I nap, I am more than ready for round two.”

Rowan’s chest expanded in relief under Aelin’s and he gave a soft laugh. “I’m glad your fire hasn’t dimmed but I’d like to clean you up, get some lotion on your wrists and ankles and feed you. In that order.”

Aelin groaned, “Can’t it wait? I’m so tired.”

“It’s non-negotiable, Aelin. You come first.” He left little to debate and she sighed in mock defeat.

“You win.”

“I always do.” He set Aelin back on the bed and crawled off to go to the bathroom.

Aelin buried her face in the sheets, stretching her stiff limbs out as she heard Rowan gathering supplies. She must have dozed off because the next thing she knew, Rowan was rubbing lotion into her ankles and then her wrists with quiet reverence. She moaned softly, reveling in the attention. When he finished, he stood up off the bed and pulled Aelin with him.

“Come on, sleepyhead.”

Aelin let him pull her up and led her to the attached bathroom across the room. She smiled softly, “You really know how to take care of a woman. I should hang around more often.”

Rowan’s face lit up and a wicked delight danced in his eyes, “I wouldn’t complain. Go on, clean yourself up. Meet me downstairs and we’ll cook something together.”

Aelin stuck her tongue out at Rowan’s retreating figure - who hadn’t even bothered waiting for an answer - but she closed the bathroom door and did as she was bid. When she finished, Aelin eyed herself in the mirror. Her golden hair was a mess but her cheeks were flushed and eyes bright once more.

It was then, when she eyed her lips to see how badly she’d split it, that she realised Rowan had masterfully distracted her and hadn’t once kissed her. She glared at her reflection and steeled herself.

He wasn’t going to get away from her that easily. Oh, no. Rowan was now her prey. She would claim his mouth just as he’d claimed her body.

Game on.


	5. Patience is a Shitty Virtue

Aelin wiped the small amount of already dried blood from her lip with a damp cloth, the small cut barely noticeable and fortunately, not in any pain as she stalked out of the bathing room to hunt down Rowan. She swiped his black button-down dress shirt from where it was splayed on the floor before slipping into it, the length of the shirt resting to about the middle of her thighs.

Leaving the fine shirt unbuttoned more of a calculated move to taunt and tease Rowan than anything and she eyed herself in the mirror to check if it had the desired effect. Just fucked hair, check. Flushed cheeks, check. Shirt covering her breasts just enough to allow the swell of them to peek through? Double check.

If Rowan wanted to play games, Aelin could play.

There were the muted clinking and clangs that often accompanied the sounds of cooking echoing from the kitchen downstairs and Aelin followed the sounds down the hallway onto the main floor, bare feet padding lightly over the plush area rugs Rowan had decorating the hardwood floors of his home.

Aelin allowed an exaggerated sway of her hips in each prowling step towards the kitchen where she could see Rowan was indeed preparing some sort of Italian dish for them. She paused on the threshold of the kitchen underneath the rounded archway, leaning against the entryway with a hip cocked and her arms crossed, allowing her breasts to swell deliciously under them.

Aelin watched as Rowan moved surely around the room, still shirtless but having slipped into some gym shorts, his muscles bunching delectably under the velvet smooth inked skin. She wouldn’t speak first. No, instead she would wait. The power came from who broke first, didn’t it? Aelin would need to research that notion to know for sure.

Rowan looked up at her as he sliced onions in thin, even slices, hardly missing a beat as his gaze swept up and down, pine-green eyes darkening slightly as he scanned the exposed soft flesh at the apex of her thighs.

Rowan, damn him, merely set his attentions back on the onions before him without a word to Aelin’s dismay. Her brow furrowed and her nostrils flared, no one ever brushed her off. She was desirable, damn it!

She uncrossed her arms and strode to the other side of the island so she had a full-on view of him while he worked. A lock of his silver hair had fallen to caress one of the wicked etched words on his temple and it took every ounce of Aelin’s will not to leap across the granite countertop and run her hands roughly through the soft strands.

Instead, Aelin slipped Rowan’s shirt from her shoulders, allowing it to fall to a heap on the kitchen floor and proceeded to stand there, hip cocked and breasts bare. The counter hid anything lower than her hips but Rowan was familiar enough with her assets that baring all wasn’t entirely necessary in this particular moment.

Once again, Rowan hardly spared her a glance.

“Do you want to help?” He asked, transferring the diced onions to a pan to begin frying them in the already heated oil on the stove.

Aelin’s brows rose in surprise. “You’re kidding, right? I’m naked. In your kitchen. I’m practically begging you to take me here and now and you want to know if I want to help?”

Rowan’s lips lifted in a lazy smile. “I’m not blind, Aelin. I see you. It is quite the show but I’m more concerned about feeding you before I fuck you again. My rules, remember? Those rules involve taking care of you.”

Aelin’s blood boiled at his refusal to play but her heart betrayed her as it skipped a beat in anticipation and the latter part of his statement. He wanted to take care of her. She tried not to look for a deeper meaning in that - it was after all, a condition of their arrangement. Aelin loosed a breath in acceptance of her defeat and bent over to pick up the shirt she had so carelessly deposited on the kitchen floor to wrap around herself once more.

“Put the shirt on the chair,” came Rowan’s quick order.

Aelin paused, “I can’t very well cook naked, can I?” She bit out, her temper quick to flare as usual.

“I’ll cook, you can sit on that barstool,” he pointed with the spatula in his hand to the stool at the end of the island closest to him.

Aelin’s nostrils flared. Every word from his mouth was collected and certain, utterly unphased by her presence and it was beginning to frustrate her. “I will not sit naked in your kitchen for your pleasure.”

Rowan set his spatula down and leaned to turn the stove off before washing his hands with soap and water. Aelin’s heart thundered in her chest. Finally, she had captured his attention. She was defying him in order to get it, however and Rowan had promised there would be punishment involved if she did so.

Now, she supposed, Aelin would find out exactly what that entailed.

Rowan turned to face her. His features were set in his normal mask of cool indifference that betrayed nothing of what he was feeling but Aelin could see the wicked flash of delight in his eyes. Aelin couldn’t find it in herself to be nervous given that she was far more interested in having Rowan’s hands on her in whatever way she could get them.

Rowan circled the island and came to a stop before her. He towered over her, automatically dominating any space he occupied but Aelin refused to back down. He didn’t frighten her and she knew he never meant to but this was obviously a play of who controlled the situation.

Aelin was simply a glutton for punishment. And since she’d had Rowan that first time, she was finding it more and more difficult to stay away. Her desire for him was overwhelming. If she had to endure his rules and punishments for more of him, she would.

It was a fine line to toe and Aelin would need to be well aware of if she started to lose herself for more of him. Those were concerns for another time, though.

Aelin’s breath quickened as he raised his hand slowly to run a finger from her temple to her jaw. “You are beautiful, you know that?” His voice was quiet but it still managed to rattle Aelin to her core with anticipation.

She licked her lips just as he ran his finger tip over her lower one. Rowan paused in the middle, tugging on it experimentally before releasing her. Her temperature dropped with the loss of his contact, even as minimal as it had been.

Aelin moved towards him to finally claim his mouth but he took a step back before she could touch him.

“No.”

Her brow furrowed in frustration. ‘No’ was quickly becoming her least favourite word when it came from Rowan’s lips. She chanced another step only for Rowan to withdraw once more. Laughter danced in those cunning eyes now and it only raised Aelin’s temper.

“Aelin, stop,” Rowan cautioned. “You’re too in your head, please take a breath. Do you trust me?”

Aelin made to roll her eyes but she stopped herself at the brow Rowan cocked, having already anticipated her sass. “Yes, I trust you,” she offered instead, tucking her hands behind her back so as to refrain from touching him, which of course left her peaked breasts on full display. It was a good thing she had no shame in her naked form because this was turning into quite possibly the longest amount of time she’d been naked in the presence of a man without actively fucking.

However, he was right; it was time to let her anger go and be here, in the moment with him. Rowan would take care of her. He would take her where she needed to go. The timing of it was of no consequence. 

The last thing she wanted was to become compulsive when it came to sex.

And that’s all it was, in the end - sex. Right?

“Do your worst,” she breathed, her acceptance settling over her with far more ease than she had expected.

Rowan grinned. “I’m sure you remember what I said about punishment and my need for control, yes?”

“Vividly.” She gave an encouraging smile for him to continue, knowing he would need to see her confirmation.

‘What’s your safe word?” 

“Buzzard.” A lift of her brow that earned a smirk from Rowan at her challenge.

“Will you ever tell me what it means?” He asked with genuine curiosity.

Aelin shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly but a sparkle of glee glimmered in her turquoise and gold eyes, “I haven’t decided if you’ve done anything to deserve it yet.” 

Rowan’s smile widened. “Oh Aelin, please tell me what I must do to earn your favour.” His voice was practically a purr and it did wild things to Aelin’s core.

Aelin contemplated him for a moment. “I’ll think on it,” she teased.

Rowan shifted on his feet but let it go. Aelin realised he could likely just order her to tell him or withhold sex until she complied but she sensed that he would never force her hand when it came down to it. Rowan seemed hellbent on ensuring her comfort and consent. With Aelin’s limited experience, she was unsure if this was a normal beginning to their sort of arrangement but she hoped she would find out. A part of her wanted to please this man, to be everything he needed and wanted which unfortunately for Aelin, was more than conflicting when she remembered this wasn’t a permanent agreement.

“Good,” was all he said before continuing. “I want you to bend over the table with your arms stretched above your head so you can grip the other side. When you’re comfortable, I’m going to spank you because of your refusal to follow my order. It will sting but you should mostly feel pleasure. Do you understand?”

Straight to the point as usual, Rowan. “What will you be using?” Aelin’s stomach flipped over with nervousness but it was excitement that coursed through her veins. All this lead up had already left her aching between her legs but the idea of Rowan’s hands roughing and pinking her ass up left her slick. 

“Just my hand. I don’t get off on whipping anyone into submission, Aelin.” 

She then agreed verbally - far too quickly and probably a tad too relieved, if Rowan’s wicked smile was any indication – and then did as she was bid.

Her breasts were heavy with the need for his attention and when she rested them against the chilled table, she gasped quietly as her oversensitive nipples received the slightest bit of stimulation. Aelin shivered and reached above her to grip the other side of the table. She could clearly see the outside world through the wide window and it would only take one passerby’s errant look through the window to see clearly that Aelin was bared to Rowan with Rowan’s towering frame over her.

The thought did not stir any alarm within her but rather elicited further excitement and a part of Aelin was slightly disappointed that they were the only house at the end of the cul-de-sac and the only people who would be strolling through were the ones Rowan himself had invited. Aelin would need to gather the courage to bring this newfound desire up with Rowan and see if public displays were off the table given the weakness of her knees that came about just thinking of him claiming her with a possible audience.

Aelin could feel Rowan hovering above her and each moment he didn’t touch her left her breathing beyond erratic. It was something she perhaps should have been embarrassed by but she couldn’t bring herself to feel the slightest bit of shame. Even if this was a teaching moment for her, it was already terribly erotic and Aelin recognised that she would enjoy this far more than she should probably should.

Mercifully, Rowan finally ran a finger across her lower back, just above her ass. She trembled under his ministrations and was already desperate for more.

“I want you to count along. We’re going to count to ten. If you forget to count, we’ll start again. When we hit ten, I’m taking you here. I need to be inside you, Aelin. Okay?” 

Aelin could have sworn Rowan’s voice shook with his need but it seemed unlikely, given how controlled he normally was. She must have imagined it. “Okay,” she agreed, her voice husky with lust.

Rowan stepped to the left side of her, his right hand caressing her ass as he positioned himself. “I’m going to start now.” His voice definitely shook then but Aelin could scarcely focus and she sucked in a breath as Rowan removed his hand and then brought it back down in a swift swing that when it connected with Aelin’s ass, stung true.

“One,” Aelin gasped, eyes closing as she took a moment to reorder the sensations she experienced. There was pain, yes, but as Rowan’s hand massaged the abused flesh of her ass, she realised there was also pleasure – just as he had promised. 

“Are you okay?” Rowan’s tenderness shattered Aelin’s heart but the lust-fueled compartment in Aelin’s mind wanted to scream that this wasn’t the time.

“More,” she begged.

Rowan chuckled darkly and complied.

“Two!” She groaned this time with the sting, her centre throbbing in response. It felt so good that there was no way this could truly be considered punishment. Was he going easy on her? She couldn’t tell but she also didn’t care. She dutifully counted each spank, relishing in the sharp crack that resonated in the room at each contact of his hand against her ass. The stinging grew more pronounced but Aelin could only focus on how much she wanted Rowan inside her and how good he made her feel any time he touched her.

When she counted the final one, Rowan’s breathing was as loud as her own and she could feel him trembling behind her. He pressed his hardened cock against her exposed ass, having already dropped his shorts, unable to wait any longer.

“Need you, Aelin.” He groaned, his hands already working to spread her legs for him to fit between. 

“I’m yours,” she found herself saying, not thinking of any further implications the words may cover. Rowan’s breath caught again and she heard him swallow. He withdrew and for a moment Aelin worried she had said the wrong thing but he only pulled her from where she was still bent on the table and into his arms to face her. 

His green eyes were wild and his cheeks were flushed, that errant lock of his silver hair hanging in his eye once more. She reached up to smooth it away and when her palm met the tattooed side of his face, he groaned and his eyes closed in response.

“Take me,” she said, feeling the power balance in the room shift somehow. Aelin couldn’t put her finger on whatever the change had been because his eyes snapped open and he wasted no time in lifting her so her ass was on the edge of the table and she was forced to lean back to brace herself with her arms.

Rowan’s arms were then under her legs, forcing them to rest against his biceps before he was sliding his thick cock between her slick folds without warning. Aelin met Rowan’s eyes as he slid home in one fast movement. There was a desperation in his gaze that told Aelin he was as affected as she was but she couldn’t give it further thought as Rowan started to move.

Aelin cried out as he hit that spot far within her, the angle so fucking deep that Aelin knew this wouldn’t last long. She was already so close from the spanking alone and the fullness of him ignited her. “Fuck, Rowan,” she gasped.

“I know,” he managed, a primal growl ripping from his chest with each thrust. Rowan was not gentle with her and sweat had begun to bead on his brow with the way he pounded into her, his grip on her ass tightening with each movement. The table rocked below Aelin which only caused her to latch onto Rowan, pulling his muscled torso towards her with her legs. He was no longer the man who was always in control, but rather a slave for his desire. A slave to Aelin’s body just as Aelin was a slave to his own. 

It was not a thought that frightened Aelin, but one that drove her to tilt her pelvis slightly so he could reach impossibly deeper, encouraging their desperate need to clash and take. To take everything he offered her and give everything of herself in return.

“Going to come, don’t stop,” Aelin cried, her head thrown back as the ecstasy of her pending completion raced to fill every coherent sense in her body.

“Never. Look at me, Aelin.” Rowan pleaded, his voice shaking with what Aelin assumed was restraint.

Aelin forced her eyes open and raised her head to meet his gaze. The depth of feeling she found waiting there unraveled her and she came without breaking his gaze. Each moan that tore from her throat was his name over and over as her body took everything Rowan gave her.

Rowan’s own release shattered through him and Aelin could just barely hear her name being whispered, an almost sort of reverence to it before he buried his face in her neck. He let her legs down but she wrapped them around his waist to pull him closer. 

Rowan’s hands tangled in her hair and he breathed her scent in, placing light kisses along her neck that caused Aelin to shiver. Rowan’s hot kisses trailed from her neck to her jaw and then finally, mercifully, to her lips.

Maybe it was because Aelin had been itching to claim his mouth ever since she ran into him not three hours before, but the kiss shattered her. It was tender, far more so than she expected from Rowan after the claiming that was still rattling her bones. She opened her mouth to him and he swept his tongue in lazily to taste her, as though he had all the time in the world.

Aelin was not opposed to that idea in the slightest.

Rowan pressed his lips to hers twice more, small, quick kisses before he pulled back to look at her. “How do you feel?”

Aelin knew he meant her ass and while that was indeed stinging and likely in need of some attention, she said, “I feel alive.”

If he was confused, he didn’t let on. He merely pressed a soft kiss to her forehead before pulling away and out of her. She let out a slight gasp as his fullness left her body and she was left feeling slightly – well, empty.

Aelin slipped off the table and hoped her legs had recovered enough that she wouldn’t fall but it was unnecessary because Rowan was there to catch her.

“You’re incredible, Aelin. I know I’m maybe not what you had in mind when you met me last weekend– “

She cut him off and by surprise as she stood up on the tips of her toes and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. “If it gets to be too much, I’ll tell you. But I want this. I want you to take me places I never imagined. I want you to teach me what you know for as long as you want me.” The uncertainty of the how long aspect wasn’t lost on Aelin, but she shoved that insecurity down. From where she stood now, she wasn’t ready for it to end anytime soon.

“You have no idea what I want to do with you, Aelin. I want to make your body sing for me, to ignite further like it does when I’m inside of you. I want to show you everything and I want to claim you everywhere.”

Aelin’s heart thudded unevenly at their shared declarations but she managed a cocky grin before she asked, “Everywhere?”

Rowan pulled her into his arms, one hand wrapped around her waist and the other to cradle her chin. His eyes burned with lust. “Yes, everywhere. Your ass will be mine.” His hand on her waist brushed lower to cup her butt-cheek. 

“What else do you want to do with me?” She asked, brazenly pressing her pelvis into Rowan’s slightly hardened dick. 

He gave a dazzling grin that fried every synapse in her nervous system. “Why don’t I tell you over dinner, Fireheart?”

Aelin chewed on her lip, “Fireheart?”

Rowan laughed and released her, reaching to grab his discarded shorts and the shirt Aelin had come in wearing, slipping into the shorts and offering the shirt to Aelin. “I’ll tell you yours when you tell me mine.”

“Not fair, Rowan.”

“So very fair, Aelin.” He taunted.

Aelin decided in that moment that she very much adored the teasing side of Rowan and would do anything to have him laugh with her like this again. She slipped into his shirt and buttoned it almost to the top. 

“There’s a powder room just to the left of the entrance if you want to clean yourself up. I’m not opposed to you being covered in my cum but it might be slightly sticky for you while you help me cook.”

And just like that, teasing Rowan was replaced with Sex God Rowan and while she would never admit it, she was ready to jump him. “What about my ass?” She exposed the reddened cheek to him and Rowan reached to run a soothing hand over it.

“I’ll rub some lotion on it before we sit down to eat. Wouldn’t want you to be uncomfortable while we eat.” He winked at that.

Aelin swore foully and left the room before she could jump him – and not sexually this time - he fucking knew she was ready again. What a tease. She was already plotting her revenge.

If she could find a way to catch him off-guard enough that he couldn’t say no when she made her move.


End file.
